Hit Me
by I'm-A-Brat
Summary: When the Black Hood threatens Jughead's life, Betty takes revenge into her own hands and makes the first move.
1. Initiation

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Toni, one of the only female serpent members asked; watching with sharp eyes as the blonde North-Sider tucked a stray piece of blonde hair behind her ear. She looked strangely out of place in her grey sweater and blue-washed denim jeans. "Jughead won't be happy if he hears about this.." Toni mumbled, sliding on a black leather jacket, a two headed snake embroidered onto the back with sloppy stitching.

Betty's eyes flashed up to meet Toni's, the serpents breath caught in her throat. "He won't hear about it if no one tells him." Betty snapped, wrapping her arms around her self as a fruitless attempt to shield off the freezing cold winds. "Let's get this over with." She said, shedding her sweater and pulling her hair out of her ponytail, ignoring Toni's scrutinizing gaze.

Betty stood, now wearing only her white tank-top and jeans; her hair bounced in the wind behind her.

Toni waved her arm; a signal for the group of serpents to form two lines.

Betty would have to successfully walk through the mass of snakes if she wanted to become a serpent. "You don't have to do this." Toni said, "This is your last chance; if you feel even an inkling of uncertainty, _go."_ The female veteran offered. Betty, of course, felt more than just a little bit of doubt, she wasn't sure how anyone could just walk through a line of _Serpents_ without feeling at least the smallest bit scared. "I'm fine." Betty whispered. Toni wasn't sure who she was trying to convince; because neither Betty nor Toni believed what she had said.

Toni watched with bated breath as Betty began her trek through the snakes.

First up was senior veteran _Mustang;_ although he was known to be quite harsh, especially with beginners, he had promised to Toni beforehand that he would take it easy on Betty. Toni's eyes widened as Mustang's fist flew into Betty's side. A gasp left the blonde's lips as she crumpled against his punch, falling onto the ground beneath her. Betty's hands curled over her stomach as she stood from the ground shakily with the help of Toni, earning a nod of approval from Mustang.

Next in line was, Joaquin; he wasn't as old of a member as some of the other Serpents, but he had remained loyal to F.P. Jones, leading Toni to believe that he would be a good option for today's initiation. Offering an apologetic look, Joaquin spared no time in delivering a sharp blow to the nose. A sickening crunch sounded through the empty field, falling deaf upon Betty's cries. She cradled her nose with hovering hands, a stream of blood trailing down her throat and chest.

"My god.." Toni muttered, eyes locked onto Betty's blood covered hands and red stained shirt.

The blonde wasn't allowed even a second to gather herself as she was pummeled with hit after hit. For Betty Cooper, time seemed to slow, if not stop completely. It was as though she had been submerged in water. Her movements were slow and sluggish, leaving her unable to defend herself, or even utter a single word- let alone cry out in pain.

Betty could faintly hear Toni's voice in the distance, "That's _enough!"_ Betty turned her head just in time to see two of the previous Serpents, Mustang and Joaquin, holding Toni back by her arms, pulling her away as she twisted and squirmed.

Betty shakes her head and sniffles, lifting an arm to wipe at her nose, cringing at how _red_ the blood that clings to her skin is in comparison to her pale skin. " _Betty_ _Cooper_?" A male voice asks from above her. She lifts her head, lifting a brow at the sight of Jughead's father. "F.P.?" She asks, running her eyes up and down at the man's disheveled mien.

Now conscious of her own appearance; Betty struggles to smoothen out her red-stained tank-top and swipes her fingers underneath her eyes to make sure that they're void of any mascara or tears.

"Didn't expect to see you here.." Betty muttered, standing in an awkward stance to relieve the pain that pierced her left side. Betty realized how horrible she probably looked, and cringed internally.

F.P's eyes narrowed onto her's, a look of confusion and anger crossing his face. "What are _you_ doing here?" He hissed, pulling at the collar of his shirt. "Did _Jughead_ set you up to this?"

At the sound of _his_ name, Betty's eyes immediately casted downwards, her hands fiddling with the hem of her shirt, "No.. We're actually not together anymore- Jughead and I- we split up." She begrudgingly admitted, too scared to face the man in front of her. "I came by myself." She explained. F.P. let out a groan that resembled disappointment, "What?" He mumbled, "You guys were so.. _good._ I just.. don't understand what happened..?" F.P reached up and rubbed at his face vigorously, almost as if he was trying to convince himself that this was some kind of dream that he could wake up from. Betty wrapped her arms around her self defensively, "It was for his own good!" She argued, taking a step forwards.

"Bullshit." F.P. said disbelievingly, "You were the best thing he had- the _only_ good thing he had."

The blonde swiped at her eyes, moving closer to the older man, "Okay," She whispered, "So _hit_ me. Make me feel the pain that Jughead felt. _Hit me."_ She stabbed a finger at his chest, pushing his backwards. "Do it." She snapped.

If F.P. hit her, then, she could finally become a serpent. She needed him to hit her and if she needed to push his buttons to do so, then so well.

What Betty did not expect was for F.P. to comply so willingly.

Her eyes widened seconds before F.P.'s fist came crashing down onto the temple of her head. Searing, burning, white, hot pain filtered throughout her entire body, sending her stumbling backwards onto the ground. She let out bated breaths, her heart racing as her hands gripped painfully tight onto the grass beneath her. Betty rolled over onto her stomach, her head pressed firmly against the ground and her hair splayed in a halo around her; blood spilled onto the dirt.

"I'm fine." She said, more to herself than anyone else, considering anyone was _actually_ listening.

Betty felt some heavy land on her back and then the sound of engines starting and shuffling. She stood on all fours, before eventually making it to her feet, a leather jacket falling off of her as she did so. The field was empty except for Betty and Toni.

 _"Congratulations, you're officially a serpent."_

 **Oh my god, after the lack of episode this week I think we could all use a little bit of Riverdale- aha. I know that this chapter isn't too interesting, just a lot of Betty getting beat up and F.P. going Mama Bear. I will, eventually, include Jughead- this is set right after they break up though, so him and Betty may not be on talking terms. As to why Betty is deciding to join the serpents, that'll be a secret until another chapter- jk, I have no idea what I'm doing so I'll probably just come up with it on the spot. I've been debating a lot about whether or not I should post this so maybe show some love?**


	2. Clean-Up

**Thank you for the sweet reviews, here is this week's chapter!**

Betty bites back a whimper as she pressed the alcohol soaked cloth against her cheek. She winces as the cleaning solution burns into her skin, a prickling pain spreading throughout her entire cheek. Reluctantly, she peers up at the mirror in front of her, a sob forcing its way through her lips as she studies her face. She had the same blue green eyes that had been passed down in her family for generations, the same honey blonde hair, and the same pale skin; that was where the similarities ended.

Her usual flawless look was traded for a much more distasteful look. A deep, purple bruise covered one of her eyes, accompanied by a split in her cheek that she can only assume was caused by F.P.'s punch.

Dirt and blood was caked into her hair, turning strands of it into more of a brown than blonde color. Betty ran a finger over her chest, passing multiple bruises and gashes with the tip of her finger.

Her features contorted as she directed her hand downwards, passing across a particularly painful bruise over her ribcage. She lifted her shirt, slowly, anxious to see the extent of her injury.

The skin around her stomach was purple, yellow, and so painful that she could almost _see_ it throbbing; Betty felt sick at the sight of it. She shook her head, gripping onto the edges of her sink and let out a dry laugh.

"You good, Betty?" Toni called from the room over. "I've got everything ready." She added, the soft whir of a tattoo gun could be heard in the distance; Betty gulped visibly.

Sparing one more glance at her disheveled appearance, Betty left the bathroom, barefooted. She treaded through the small house that she could only assume belonged to the older serpent quietly, before pausing as she came into view of the girl. A gun lay in a Toni's hands, the table in front of her scattered with various different inks and needles.

"Is this.. Sanitary?" Betty said before she could stop herself, noticing Toni's bare hands.

Toni scoffed, a dry laugh rolling off her gloss-coated lips, seeming indifferent to the blonde's question, "I do this all the time, _Betty."_ She sneered playfully, before patting a chair next to her, "Sit here." Toni ordered.

Betty only nodded her head, lowering herself onto the wooden seat hesitantly. "You know where you wanna put it?" Toni asked, prepping the gun, "Probably needs to be in a place most people wouldn't see, huh?" She offered.

Betty grinned sheepishly, "Yeah," She didn't want the Serpents to think that she was ashamed of being one of them- but at the same time she couldn't allow her parents, or her friends, or basically anyone on the Northside to see it. Mentally, she made a checklist of all the body parts she could offer up for sacrifice. Eventually, she came to the conclusion that there was virtually only one spot that would be completely fool-proof.

"My ribcage." Betty sighed, leaning against the table for support; the weight of the night was finally coming down on her. "I have a pretty bad bruise there though." She admitted, tugging at her loose curls absentmindedly.

She wondered when she would finally be able to come clean to Archie, Veronica, to _Jughead._ Betty supposed that when the Black-Hood was finally caught, maybe, just maybe things would go back to way they were. Maybe they wouldn't, _maybe_ she really had hurt Juggie, to the point that he wouldn't want her back. Of course, he had every right to deny her. _She_ broke up with him; she _couldn't even_ do it in person.

She deserved everything that she got.

"Okay, I'm going to need you to get on the table- and take off your shirt." Toni added the last part as a second-thought. Betty obeyed wordlessly; pulling her shirt off and making her way onto the table where she laid.

Toni inspected the bruise, carefully prodding it before speaking, "It's not broken, _but_ it's not exactly in perfect condition. In other words; I can work on it, but it's going to hurt like hell. I need you to stay _very_ still."

Before Betty could reply, Toni dug the needle of the gun into Betty's side, coaxing a whine out of the blonde. Although the pain was nothing compared to the injured she sustained yesterday, she still did not like the thought of a needle being repeatedly stabbed into her porcelain skin. She turned her head to the side, stifling a cry by biting into a fabric of her shirt.

She could only imagine how weak the other serpents thought she was, especially after her performance yesterday. Her fists clenched into tight bundles as Toni worked as quickly as she could on the abused skin.

Suddenly, Toni plunged the tip of the needle into an especially sensitive piece of skin, _deep._

This continued for a while; Toni pushing excessively hard with the tattoo needle and Betty, in response, cursing her out. Betty had begun to wonder if Toni was doing it on purpose. She had an irking suspicion that it had to do with her and Jughead, going off of the fact that she had begun her personal vendetta against Betty after her confrontation with F.P. Betty wasn't trying to be secretive, or private about her relationship with Jughead, she just didn't feel like announcing it.

Toni, apparently, didn't feel the same way, continuing to dig deeper and deeper with her needle.

Maybe Betty was overreacting? She had never had a tattoo done before, so she wasn't exactly one to judge another's skill.

"Why'd you break up with him?" Toni mumbled the first words that she'd said since they began.

The blonde took in a deep breath of air, burrowing her head in the nook of her arm, "It _wasn't working out_." She mumbled through her hair, biting her lip and wondered if she was too obvious, unbeknownst to Toni.

"What do you mean?" Toni questioned, unrelenting and ignorant towards Betty's inner turmoil.

Betty groaned, "I don't know." She shook her head, "We didn't click?" She offered. Toni rolled her eyes, before wiping down Betty's back with a white cloth, "All done." She huffed, "Don't touch it, don't leave it un-bandaged for too long, and only use cold water when showering." Toni listed off a couple more do's and don'ts.

Not shortly after Toni left did Betty actually begin to question where she was.

She was in a small, dirty house- that she did know. She could assume that it was in the south-side, and she could gauge that it didn't belong to Toni judging by how meticulous she was with her clean-up, _and_ considering that she just left.

Betty found a small mirror, perched against a wall in the bedroom, and slowly lifted up her shirt. The purple and yellow speckled flesh of her stomach was sprinkled with careful lines of ink; forming elaborate swirls that made up a two headed snake. According to Toni, it would need to be colored soon, but she would wait a month for the bruising to heal before she began.

It was beautiful.

And although she couldn't get a clear look at it because of the injury beneath, she was sure that she would continue to love it. This _wasn't_ a mistake.

 **Okay, so first off- thank you all so much again for all of the nice comments you guys left! I've decided that I'll try to update every Wednesday along the Riverdale episodes airing on tv. Also, some people were wondering when Jughead and the rest of the north-side crew were going to figure out about Betty's _secret,_ and know that I've already planned how Jughead is going to come across it- and I'm really excited for it! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, although it was short.**


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